The Fortune Hunter

LoveReading Says

A lovely Victorian saga incorporating many real characters and illustrating the development of the female role in society.  Our protagonist, Charlotte Baird’s ambition is to be a photographer and her reputation grows among the wealthy for she is indeed one of them herself.  She falls for William George ‘Bay’ Middleton who in turn has a raging affair with the Empress of Austria and a photo that captures their attraction scandalises society when it is part of an exhibition Queen Victoria is to attend.  All this adds huge colour to a spirited tale that portrays the restrictions of the three main characters and their rebellion.  It’s a cracking read.

Reviewed by Sarah Broadhurst
Sarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from…
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About The Fortune Hunter

The Fortune Hunter, the New York Times bestselling novel by Daisy Goodwin, is a lush, irresistible story of the public lives and private longings of grand historical figures. Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, is the Princess Diana of nineteenth-century Europe. Famously beautiful, as captured in a portrait with diamond stars in her hair, she is unfulfilled in her marriage to the older Emperor Franz Joseph. Sisi has spent years evading the stifling formality of royal life on her private train or yacht or, whenever she can, on the back of a horse. Captain Bay Middleton is dashing, young, and the finest horseman in England. He is also impoverished, with no hope of buying the horse needed to win the Grand National--until he meets Charlotte Baird. A clever, plainspoken heiress whose money gives her a choice among suitors, Charlotte falls in love with Bay, the first man to really notice her, for his vulnerability as well as his glamour. When Sisi joins the legendary hunt organized by Earl Spencer in England, Bay is asked to guide her on the treacherous course. Their shared passion for riding leads to an infatuation that jeopardizes the growing bond between Bay and Charlotte, and threatens all of their futures.

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